With the Wind 1905

Editor: We're looking at "With the Wind," a watercolor by Edward Burne-Jones, created in 1905. It’s a small, circular work, dominated by shades of blue and gray. The embracing figures within look so peaceful, almost ethereally so. What do you see in this piece that perhaps I'm missing? Curator: Ah, yes. Peaceful is a great word for it, but there's a slight melancholic quality, don't you think? The circular composition almost feels like looking into a dream or a memory. And the wind… is it comforting, or is it a force carrying them away? I love how Burne-Jones leaves it open to interpretation. He painted numerous versions of floating figures. The question that lingers for me, gazing at them nestled like that is: What's the fate of those carried by the wind? Perhaps eternal lovers being blown to some otherworld paradise? Editor: I see what you mean about the melancholy. And yes, that ambiguity is powerful! Do you think the wind itself is symbolic here? Curator: Undoubtedly! The wind is change, fate, destiny. Remember, this is the era of Symbolism. Every detail holds weight. It may represent, among other things, the whims of love or maybe even death. They’re locked in this embrace, adrift. Are they surrendering to this power, or are they seeking solace in each other against it? The lack of a clear answer makes it so compelling, like a half-remembered myth. Does the painting provoke a sense of surrender in you or the desire for steadfast resistance? Editor: That’s a fascinating point. I was initially drawn to the stillness within the movement, but now I see the tension too. It's far more layered than I initially perceived. Curator: Precisely! It's in that very tension that the work finds its poignancy. Burne-Jones asks us to consider what it means to hold on when everything is fleeting, constantly moving away from our embrace. Editor: This was so enriching. Thanks for pointing out these elements; I will carry that expanded insight with me from now on. Curator: My pleasure. It's a dialogue, this looking, seeing and feeling. And it's a journey.